Effect of habitat fragmentation on the genetic diversity of Stipa krylovii Reshov. in an agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China

Native grassland in China have been fragmented due to the introduction of agriculture, which has the potential to reduce genetic diversity. In order to understand the potential effects of fragmentation, we conducted a study to examine the genetic diversity between two populations of Stipa krylovii in a typical steppe ecoregion, in northern China. One population was fragmented by farmland (PF) while the second was continuous steppe (PS). The populations were 30 km apart. Genetic diversity was assessed by sampling plants in four geographically similar subpopulations in each population and analyzed for their DNA using the inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. Of 50 primers tested, 7 produced 122 amplified bands from 120 individuals, of which 92% (112) were polymorphic. According to the UPGMA dendogram, the four PF subpopulations were grouped separately from the four PS subpopulations. However, AMOVA analysis indicated that habitat fragmentation over the past 50 yr had not changed genetic diversity and variation among S. krylovii populations in an agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China. Therefore, the genetic diversity of this species can be maintained if agriculture disturbance is not increased. Key words: Genetic variation, gene flow, ISSR, fragmented population, non-fragmented population